Promises for rural power supply

A newspaper report based on discussions in the recent REB's convention, stated that REB will ensure electricity for the rural people by 2021, that is six years down the road. However, no comparative data of power supplied over the last five years and earlier similar periods were furnished which could have given us an idea of the situation in the past. We all hope and pray, that REB covers, if not fully, at least over 80 per cent of our rural areas which will grow over the next five years on their own.

While we all appreciate the positive attitude of the REB and wish them every success, the crux of the issue lies in the political stability of the country which is a prerequisite for development anywhere in the world.

Regarding corruption in the power sector, the less is said the better. The present opposition party, then in power, was accused of widespread corruption in the electricity sector, on both sides of the Atlantic. Incidentally, this writer was in the USA during that period, when corruption was unearthed by their concerned authorities. The authorities banned an international company from participating in their power sector equipment supplies, till they recovered and returned some of the overseas funds from the accounts of the then influential politicos.  These are facts, and the funds so recovered were subsequently received by our state authorities.

A retired engineer